I found quite a lot of what I think in interference with this site and I have a pretty good idea of the source,So to begin I have to add this warning.
I suggest the person concerned thinks very carefully about interference with my site again, businesses can be seriously damaged relatively easily and there are quite a few details I have held back on so far. Continue with these attacks though and I will burst your little bubble big time. I am quite happy to publish a lot of detail you will not like if you persist and not just here.
Ok sorry about that, but my host is on the case and it is only a matter of time before I have sufficient evidence to bring this interfering idiot and his cronies down. and make no mistake if provoked I will do just that.
Anyway back to the radio side of things.
The truth is at the moment though in our area the 2m band is pretty much a dead duck I go on scan the band and find nothing even the calling frequency is grave quiet.
The GB3CF repeater has now moved over to digital and I think this is a shame. This all followed massive abuse of the repeater, but I am not sure going digital was the way to go.
In my opinion this is a shame as the GB3CF repeater used to be a really good repeater, Now though it seems they have gone over to Yaesu Fusion. Which is Ok if you have the equipment.
I find myself wondering if this will not be the beginning of the end of the Leicester repeater group. Yes the call sign has to be generated and they can suposedly find out exactly who is abusing the repeater.
Supposedly anyway. My research suggests if you are into such things as digital radio it is easy enough to clone call signs. So it probably stops some of the abuse. But who you are talking to may not be who you think it is. My guess is only about 25% of the people who used to use it can now use the repeater. But my feeling is they have now made this an exclusive club for only those radio amateur who
A. Can afford to change radio’s
B. Those who want to use digital radio
C. Or those who are prepared to tweak software and fiddle to get the system actually working.
None of the above are where I want to be.
So to my mind in effect the original concept of repeaters has been chucked out of the window . I think the original concept was to allow mobile user with a standard radio to be able to talk to people they would not normally be able to reach on the radio installed in their car or portable set up.
Yes you can argue that you still can, but not without additional or replacement equipment.
Anyway where does this leave the average Amateur radio user on a limited budget? In my opinion they are putting the repeater beyond their reach and also putting the Leicester repeater group at risk, as I for one would not be prepared to pay dues to an organization for a service I can not use. Am I alone in this concern? You tell me.
Anyway back to the site as we are also approaching the end of the HF cycle I can not get over the noise floor on HF, hence my use of the radio seems to be switch on the radios and scan the bands to see If I can hear anything coming over the noise floor, usually I can’t so my use of the radio has become very limited of late,
I have decided to relocate the radios again now so I need to re-route the antenna leads.
My only real project at the moment is I want to rework my go box to make it easier for maintenance and organization and if all goes well details of that project will be posted here. Unfortunately there always seems to be something more pressing to be done atm.
I am now questioning if it is worth continuing with Ham radio. I am not keen on digital radio and I am certainly not interested in replacing my radios with digital units. or faffing around with software.
So I think my ham radio days may be numbered. I am not sure if qrp is still that active now either, but I think if it is that will in future be where my interest lies. At least qrp contacts are more of an achievement. rather then everything being controlled by software.
But as it moves into digital and analog begins to be phased out It leaves some of us behind. As I can get the same effect with digital radio as going into an internet chat room or using echolink or the like. No achievement there whatsoever and to me no point either.
So I don’t know yet whether I will continue with radio. I will keep my call sign just in case, but we will just have to see what unfolds.